Kitchen Sink removes part of its roof to accommodate more outdoor dining

Back on Friday, workers removed the glass-enclosed front section of Kitchen Sink, the diner on Second Avenue at Fifth Street ... opening up space for a few more outdoor tables...



...to go with the curbside seats on the Fifth Street side...



Local restaurants are doing what they can to safely increase the number of patrons as there aren't plans for indoor dining in the city anytime soon.

Kitchen Sink is at 88 Second Ave. at Fifth St. (212) 420-8050.

P.S.

The old-look Kitchen Sink with a helpful arrow showing what workers took out...

A look at the larger Amor y Amargo on A; plus Soda Club signage arrives on B

As previously reported, East Village restaurateur Ravi DeRossi is turning 95 Avenue A into an expanded Amor y Amargo... the gates were up the other day here on Sixth Street, offering a look at the new signage in progress...





No. 95 previously housed three of DeRossi's establishments: Honey Bee's, Amor y Amargo and Mother of Pearl. Honey Bee's and Mother of Pearl closed to accommodate the larger Amor y Amargo, which will now also include a full food menu.

Amor y Amargo debuted in 2011 with just a handful of seats, and quickly became celebrated as the country's first bitters-based bar.

In other DeRossi developments, signage recently arrived for Soda Club here at 155 Avenue B between Ninth Street and 10th Street...



Soda Club will feature fresh-made pasta and "over 100 natural and inexpensive wines." No word on an opening date.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• Mother of Pearl and Honey Bee's close to make way for a larger Amor y Amargo on Avenue A

• Ravi Derossi has Soda Club in the works for Avenue B

American Dream Gourmet Deli coming to 14th Street

Signage is up for the new business opening soon at 247 E. 14th St. — American Dream Gourmet Deli.

The deli, just west of Second Avenue, will be open 24/7, and selling deli-like items such as sandwiches. They'll also be going head to head with 7-Eleven, which is several storefronts away along IHOP Way.

The deli takes over the space from the 5-year-old T-swirl Crêpe, which didn't reopen after the COVID-19 PAUSE.

Thanks to Pinch for the tip!

What's going on with the local OddFellows spaces?

Several readers have asked about the status of OddFellows at 75 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery... the ice cream shop, which has been closed since the COVID-19 PAUSE in March, has been emptied out... the phone number is not in service...


[Photos by Vinny & O]

The branch on East Houston at Mott is also vacant ...



Both locations are no longer on the OddFellows website. Other outposts of the Brooklyn-based small-batch ice cream company, which launched in 2013, are open, including a new spot at Gotham West Market.

We reached out several times to OddFellows, but have yet to hear back about the status of the local shops.

OddFellows opened on Fourth Street in the spring of 2014. The East Houston location opened in 2018.

Report: Judge denies temporary restraining order for Cloister Cafe

[Photo by Steven]

A judge denied a temporary restraining order that would have reinstated the liquor license at Cloister Cafe after it was suspended for alleged social-distancing infractions earlier this month by the State Liquor Authority.

As Page Six first reported over the weekend:

Applying for the order, the bar, run by Nick Drobenko and Provocateur’s Mike Satsky and Brian Gefter, argued that, "Our business will not survive another closure." But the judge said they'd "provided little hard information" to support that.

"I do not doubt that the statement is made in good faith and may prove accurate," Judge Lewis Kaplan wrote Thursday. "But the plaintiff's owners apparently own the building in which the restaurant is located and thus may be far better able to survive than many other restaurateurs."

According to the SLA report that led to the suspension:

Investigators found the restaurant operating as a nightclub and hookah lounge with a live DJ, documenting numerous patrons ignoring social distancing with lines of customers congregating in front of the premises without facial coverings, at least twenty patrons consuming alcohol indoors under a fixed roof, and no receipts for food purchases.

For their part, Cloister Cafe claimed that the SLA didn't properly investigate the alleged violations — and just copied the claims from a Gothamist article.

Meanwhile, on Avenue B, the owners of Hairy Lemon posted a letter to patrons about their recent SLA suspension...


[Photo by Stacie Joy]

According to the SLA:

On August 8th, investigators with the state's multi-agency task force observed patrons standing and drinking without facial coverings outside the premises and confirmed that the location was operating a bar-type service, selling drinks to multiple patrons without substantial food.

The letter on the front door at the Hairy Lemon states in part that they "intend to fight our case and slightly remodel in order to comply with the strict new guidelines."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Cloister Cafe owner sues state over suspended liquor license

Sunday's parting shot

A scene in Tompkins Square Park today... Performance art? Political statement? Artisanal mayo pop-up tent?

Thanks to Eden!

RIP Walter Lure

[Image via @wlure]

Walter Lure, who was a cofounder of punk-rock pioneers the Heartbreakers, died yesterday of cancer. He was 71.

The guitarist appeared on the Heartbreakers only studio album, 1977's L.A.M.F., which featured frontman Johnny Thunders, bassist Billy Rath and drummer Jerry Nolan. All four members of the band are now deceased.

This past spring, he released the auto-biography "To Hell and Back: My Life in Johnny Thunders' Heartbreakers, in the Words of the Last Man Standing."

You can read more about his musical career via Rolling Stone ... Brooklyn Vegan ... and Stereogum.

Several local artists paid tribute to Lure on Instagram...

View this post on Instagram

Walter Lure to me was sort of the last of the Mohicans of the 70s New York punk rock scene. The last Heartbreaker, I really thought he was immortal. He was a classic legend and always crackin jokes. And goddamn it could he play guitar. The New York rock n roll scene took a major hit today and will never be the same. I’m really going to miss walking out my door and running over to Bowery Electric to go see him. I’m really gonna miss you man. Thank you for the music, sharing your epic stories, and always being cool. Love you Uncle Walter. Rest In Peace 🙏🏻💔💫 #WalterLure #Legend #Heartbreakers #TheWaldos

A post shared by @ _chuckbones_ on Aug 22, 2020 at 8:43pm PDT

View this post on Instagram

Rest In Peace Walter Lure . So sad to hear this today. I knew he was sick but he was. such a survivor I thought he would beat it . Now he is with the rest of the Heartbreakers in heaven . He was the last man standing. He played that same sunburst les Paul that he used on the LAMF album and the anarchy tour right till the end. He called it his “Dorian Gray “. He played on Ramones albums and Johhny thunders so alone. His Waldo’s albums are amazing and he had just put out his book “ to hell and back. “. I recommend it highly . He wrote great songs and had a wonderful interpretive voice with covering songs and making them his own He knew how to pick them. I learned a lot from Walter. He was kind enough to let me play bass in his band when I was 17 and When I wasn’t very good. It was an honor to play those songs with him. Years later we did the LAMF super group together and I had the best time going out west with him and the gang. I must have seen him play 200 times in nyc. no joke and he was always good. Even when it was loose ... please check out Heartbreakers live at Max’s ,LAMF. Waldo’s “ rent party “ And his book. I will miss you so fucking much. Rest easy my friend .

A post shared by Jesse Malin (@jesse_malin) on Aug 22, 2020 at 4:56pm PDT

View this post on Instagram

rip walter ...

A post shared by Johan Vipper (@jvipper) on Aug 23, 2020 at 6:02am PDT

Week in Grieview

[Albert's Garden on 2nd Street]

Posts from the past week included...

• Friends and neighbors come together to help Chef Lek at Lui's Thai Food (Tuesday)

• A reality check from B&H Dairy (Thursday)

• The former Gem Spa space is for lease (Monday)

• Yoga to the People won't be reopening on St. Mark's Place (Friday)

• Ravi DeRossi plans vegan Mexican restaurant for former Violet space on 5th Street (Monday)

• This week's NY See panel (Thursday)

• New building construction now in the obscure the Yonah Schimmel's Knish Bakery storefront phase (Friday)

• "In The Realm Of Anansi From Assisi" continues on at Le Petit Versailles (Tuesday)

• The original Juice Press has closed (Wednesday)

• Thailand Cafe will not be reopening on 2nd Avenue (Tuesday)

• Baked Cravings opening an outpost on St. Mark's Place (Tuesday)

• The last of the COVID-19 memorial has been removed from the corner of 10th and A (Monday)

• Clay Pot won't be returning to St. Mark's Place (Thursday)

• Sanshi Rice Noodle coming to 2nd Avenue and 7th Street (Monday)

• UPS delivering a retail outlet to 1st Avenue (Tuesday)

• SLA temporarily suspends the liquor license at St. Dymphna's on Avenue A (Monday)

• Report: Cloister Cafe owner sues state over suspended liquor license (Wednesday)

• O'Hanlon's preps for reopening (Wednesday)

• Here's Prince Tea House on 10th Street (Thursday)

• Mister Paradise is now hibernating on 1st Avenue; blames state's full-meal mandate (Friday)

• The tooth about this new Avenue A tenant (Thursday)

• Storefront surprise! A new laundromat coming soon to 31 Avenue A (Wednesday)

• The Horsebox closes on Avenue A (Monday)

... and a few scenes from the 10th annual (and much smaller) New Village Music Fest in Tompkins Square Park yesterday via Stacie Joy...




[Artist Laura Alvarez]


[@santelmofoods]










[DJ Andre Cirilo]

---

Follow EVG on Instragram or Twitter for more frequent updates and pics.

Report: Judge dismisses lawsuit challenging the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project

ICYMI: On Thursday, New York Supreme Court Judge Melissa Crane dismissed a lawsuit challenging the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project, The City reported.

The lawsuit, East River Park Action et al v City of New York, originally filed in February, asked to halt the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project that is scheduled to begin this fall. It also asked to declare the City Council vote last November approving the project "null and void."

Attorney Arthur Schwartz argued in a 42-page brief filed on July 20 that the city is required to seek Alienation from the state. (Alienation is the use of parkland for non-park purposes, even for brief periods.)

"Closing the East River Park, whether completely or in phases, will disproportionately affect the health and well-being and recreational opportunities of low-income New Yorkers who live in the neighborhood around the Park," Schwartz said.

As The City reported:

Crane ... ruled from the bench that the resiliency project won’t permanently alter the use of East River Park.

Closures will be staggered, and the park will be rebuilt and reopened after construction is complete. "The entire system is designed to protect the park, and to protect the neighborhood behind it," Holland said.

But Pat Arnow, a ERPA leader, said the consequences of the ruling are "dire for the park." Without the alienation process, she fears the city will not be held to account to meet their own deadlines.

"The city says the project will be done in five years. There's nothing to hold them to that schedule," Arnow said in an email. "We think there’s little chance they can complete such a big, complicated project within that time."

Tight deadlines, however, are a big part of why the project is moving ahead now. Much of the funding for the $1.45 billion project comes from post-Superstorm Sandy allocations made by the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development, which must be spent by 2022.

Last November, City Council signed off on the hotly contested flood-protection plan that will bury/elevate East River Park by eight feet as part of the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project. Construction is expected to start this fall.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• Opinion: COVID-19 + Storm Surge = Catastrophe for the Lower East Side and East Village (Feb. 7)

• More details on the city's new plan to keep East River Park partially open during flood protection construction (Oct. 3, 2019)

• At the march and rally to save East River Park (Sept. 21, 2019)

• A visit to East River Park (July 10, 2019)

'Bringing Back Bowery: Public Art as Protest' extended at Howl! Happening

[Photo by Stacie Joy]

You have one more week to see "Bringing Back Bowery: Public Art as Protest" at Howl! Happening.

The exhibit, originally set to end today, will be up through Aug. 30 now.

The group show is an outgrowth of an effort organized by Bowery artist Sono Kuwayama in June. She received permission from store owners to paint on the plywood of the boarded-up businesses along the Bowery. She then reached out to some local artists to have them create murals.

These works have been preserved and are now on display at Howl!

The gallery, 6 E. First St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery, is open Wednesday-Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Find more details about the artists at this link.

Howl! is limiting the number of visitors at any one time, and requires masks for everyone. Guests must also register upon entering and have their temperature taken.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• A look at 'Bringing Back Bowery' at Howl! Happening

Curlie and Poo

EVG reader Bill Buchen shares these photos from Third Street of longtime resident Curlie, a familiar presence along Avenue C who plays everything from 1960s soul and funk to salsa on his vintage boombox ...

... along with his girlfriend Poo...

An art opening on 11th Street with music from Zimbabwe

East Village-based artist Nora Balaban debuted new drawings last evening with a storefront opening on 11th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B. (Her work remains on display for viewing outside 526 E. 11th St.)

EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by to check out the socially distant festivities...







...which included music from Zimbabwe. Balaban ran Tribal Soundz, a community-oriented world music store, on Sixth Street for 10 years.



Stacie reports that "it was a positive and happy event."

HBD Joe Strummer

The Clash frontman would have been 68 today. The video for "Clampdown" is from 1980.

And you can check out "A Song For Joe: Celebrating the Birthday of Joe Strummer" from today right here.

A little off the top

Workers were back in Tompkins Square Park, where they removed more of the stump of the English Elm that came down at the entrance on Seventh Street and Avenue B on Aug. 3 during Tropical Storm Isaias ... (thanks to Steven for pointing this out!)

Not sure what the plans are for the rest of the stump...



... and if you want to try to figure out how old this majestic tree was...



EVG reader Bobby G. previously pointed out that this was an English Elm, not an American Elm as someone wrote, "and the only one in the park. Tons of Squirrels lived in it, and my guess is that it was one of the oldest trees in the park."